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Creating a restore disk image

You can use a disk image of a folder or volume to restore your information later.

To backup your files, you can create a disk image then copy the image to another disk or burn it on a CD or DVD for safekeeping.

You can also use a disk image to restore software on more than one computer. For example, if you administer a lab of computers, you could create a disk image to restore each computer to its original state on a regular basis.

  1. In Disk Utility, choose File > New, then choose either "Disk Image from Folder" or "Disk Image from <disk name>".
  2. If you are creating a disk image from a folder, select it in the dialog that appears.
  3. Type a name for the disk image and choose where you want to save it.
  4. Choose read-only from the Format pop-up menu.
  5. To require a password to access the contents of the disk image, choose "AES-128 (recommended)" from the Encryption pop-up menu.
  6. Click Create.
  7. Select the new disk image in the list of disks and volumes.
  8. Choose Images > “Scan Image for Restore.”

For technical information about creating a restore disk image, see the Apple Software Restore (ASR) manual (man) page. Open Terminal (in Applications/Utilities) and type "man asr", then press Return.

See also

disk images

restoring files

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